LAZNIA 1 2012 - DIE 120 TAGE VON BOTTROP (The 120 Days of Bottrop)
The Last New German Film! Depicting a German cultural scene at the turn of the century that still has not come to terms with the legacy of New German Cinema, Schlingensief tackles the topic once and for all: with endless references both open and obscure, Schlingensief takes the process of de- and reconstruction just far enough to both completely demystify and pay tribute to an era and its heritage. With appearances from the German film, TV and theatre scene, many actors, contributors and cultural icons appear as themselves; but Schlingensief is not afraid to resurrect some of the dead, only to kill them off again: part parody, part heartfelt homage, "The 120 Days of Bottrop" gives New German Cinema its final coup de grâce. The survivors of the old Fassbinder crew (Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, Volker Spengler and many others, playing themselves) get together one last time to make the very last of the New German Films: a remake of Pasolini's "Sal?". Director Christoph Schlingensief (played by Inglourious Basterds fame Martin Wuttke) gets suddenly replaced by Sönke Buckmann Freakstars 3000's Mario Garzaner), who just won the Bundesfilmpreis. Meanwhile, producer Spengler sends an agent (Christoph Schlingenisef) to Hollywood where he meets Udo Kier, Kitten Natividad and Roland Emmerich on a mission to raise money and get ex-Visconti superstar Helmut Berger to appear in the film.